YEAR: 1976

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

STATE: New Mexico

COUNTY: Otero County

LOCATION DETAILS: Mountains, with deep forest, mostly pine trees. It was during deer hunting season. As far as directions, that's hard to remember, because I never went back to it. It was a long time ago. I was a young man then.

NEAREST TOWN: Pinon N.M.

NEAREST ROAD: 24

OBSERVED: I believe it was 1976 when I and a couple of cousins (primos), were deer hunting in Otero county between the area of Weed and Pinon, New Mexico in Otero county. I am a loner by nature, so I went off to do my own hunting. They went a different direction.

As I climed the side of a mountain side I spotted some turkeys running up hill, so I gave chase so to speak. As I got to the top, I started going down the other side, it was very thick with pinon trees. As I went further down I saw a small meadow in the arroyo. I was on my knees because of all the thick trees. Anyway as I sat there, tired of walking, I was looking towards the meadow, and from the left side of the meadow I saw something walk out from the tree line, and up the edge, and back into the tree line.

It never saw me and I did not stick around for it to see me. What I saw was tall, maybe six and a half to seven feet tall, black long hair all over its body, and walked like a man. It was heavy set and appeared muscular. Its face was also covered with hair.

I did not tell anybody about it until a few years ago, when I mentioned it to my grand kids. They laugh about it, so I do not tell it anymore. But I know what I saw and I would not shoot at it if ever I see another one. I had a 300 B.D.L. Remington with me at the time, but I didn't even rasied my gun at it.

ALSO NOTICED: Just that I have beening hunting all my life and I have seen all types of animals in the wild, including bears. What I saw was not a bear.

OTHER WITNESSES: None.

OTHER STORIES: Not until today when i got online.

[See the other reports for Lincoln County and Otero County]

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Morning hours. Lighting was good. Somewhat windy.

ENVIRONMENT: Like I said mostly pine forest, in a mountainous area. Some meadows in some areas.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

Alejo is retired. He had a long career as a state prison guard at the Southern New Mexico Correction Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

My conversation with him established a few important things, with respect to his reliability as an observer in this situaton:

- Alejo has hunted in New Mexico's Sacramento Mountains since his youth. He has seen black bears several times while hunting. He would not have misinterpreted a black bear in this scenario.

- During his 20 years as a state prison guard he has spent a lot of time closely watching big, bad, buff guys. The figure he saw in the mountains was much bigger than any prison inmate he has even seen.

I asked Alejo if anything else stood out in his memory about the figure. He said it had very dark fur covering its whole body.

I asked if the figure was walking in the shade, or was possibly a silhouette from his angle of view, which might have made the fur appear darker than it actually was.

Alejo was certain about the fur color, because the figure had walked across a small meadow, in direct, overhead sunlight. It was out in the open, at a distance of 50 yards or so. It didn't seem to notice Alejo, or at least didn't make eye contact, and it wasn't in a hurry.

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There are two BFRO expeditions are headed to this area in the last week of 2004 and the first week of 2005.

There are unsually good odds for seeing and photographing in this region, at this time of year, due to the peculiarities of the terrain, and the access and support we are receiving from the local people.

See photos of the region on the page for the upcoming expeditions. Click here for that page.

These are open-invitation expeditions for people who would like to join the BFRO. Participants must be experienced campers and be prepared for any weather conditions.

At this time there are no remaining slots for the first expedition, but you are invited to inquire about remaing slots for the second expedition. To inquire, call (949) 278-6403.

About BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

Matthew Moneymaker is originally from the Los Feliz District of Los Angeles, California.

- Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

- Juris Doctorate (Law degree) from University of Akron School of Law

- Founder of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization,1995.

- Writer and co-producer of the Discovery Channel documentary "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science", 2001.

- Co-producer of the TV Series "Mysterious Encounters" for the Outdoor Life Network (OLN Channel), 2002.

- Producer of the "2003 International Bigfoot Symposium" (Willow Creek Symposium) DVD set, 2004.

- Co-host of "Finding Bigfoot" on Animal Planet Channel, 2010 - 2017.

- Current Director of the BFRO

- Available for private bigfoot expeditions and conferences. To inquire please email ContactUS@BFRO.net